Mark your calendars for the first Gun Appreciation Day, January 19, 2013. Go to the range and the gun store to show your support for the Second Amendment and lawful gun owners in America.
Find more information at GunAppreciationDay.com.
Category: Self Defense
Illumination
I’ve recently become aware that I was violating one of Alton Brown’s rules: No Unitaskers. And, I’m happy to say, I have remedied that.
Let me explain.
I’ve carried a flashlight as part of my every day carry for over 20 years. I’m a chemical engineer, and I’ve found them handy more than once, for looking at equipment in buildings or under things. Even in an office setting, you would be surprised how many times you would need to check something plugged into the computer under your desk, or hidden behind the ceiling panels overhead.
I’ve usually carried a small, cheap flashlight like the blue one on the right in the picture above. I bought that one as part of a “2 for $2.99” pack at the local hardware store. In fact, there are five more just like it in various places around the house.
But, I was reading somewhere after the recent theater shootings in Aurora, Colorado, and the writer reminded us that, even in a Gun-Free Victim Zone, a flashlight with high output can be shined in an attacker’s eyes, temporarily blinding them and allowing us to escape.
I then realized that the flashlight I carried wouldn’t disorient a mouse. It was a unitasker – a device that served only one task. Except for a fire extinguisher, I want no unitaskers.
Now, I admit I have been aware of the vast array of “Tactical” flashlights on the market, but that part of my brain imply ignored them, since, duh, I already had a flashlight. But, after considering the lessons to be learned from the Aurora shooting, I decided to get a new flashlight that could deliver enough light to be a serious defensive tool.
I settled on the flashlight on the left above, the Smith & Wesson branded Galaxy Elite model. It delivers 120 lumens from a CREE LED bulb, uses AA batteries, and has a twist-on, or momentary push button control. I used it in the dark back yard last night, and the difference between it and the old light was astonishing.
I know there are several brands of tactical flashlight out there, and I’m sure I will stir up the usual discussion. I wish I could say I researched the subject exhaustively, but in truth I bought the flashlight that gave me the most lumens for the best price, with a design I thought fit how I carry.
++++
So, now, what other unitaskers am I harboring . . . . . ?
Dealing With The Front Door – The Family Discussion
At dinner last night my wife and son and I had a serious talk about the recent shooting incident in Lake County, Florida, and how we would handle anyone coming to the door after dark.
This was a good refresher for my son, who is 15. I remember being 15, and my attention span then was even worse than it is now. But he agreed that he wouldn’t open the door for anyone he didn’t know. He also agreed that he would call 911 if there were police at the door. He’s heard enough about home invasions, I guess.
We talked about the scenarios and how to deal with them. I guess I should not be surprised but we were all in agreement.
My favorite reply from my son was when we discussed what to do if the 911 dispatcher told him they had no record of police coming to our house.
“I’ll just tell them to go ahead and send some real police, and after they deal with these losers, I’ll be in the back bedroom. Behind the bed. With a friend from Austria.”
Be Prepared, Part 10 – Dealing With The Front Door
“It’s just a bizarre set of circumstances. The bottom line is, you point a gun at a deputy sheriff or police office, you’re going to get shot.”
– Lt. John Herrell, Lake County FL Sheriff’s Department
At 1:30 AM on July 16, 26-year-old Andrew Lee Scott did what a lot of people might do. When there was a loud banging on the front door of his apartment in Lake County, Florida, he grabbed a pistol and answered the door.
At that point he was shot dead by a team of Lake County Sheriff’sDeputies.
Deputies were looking for an attempted murder suspect, and found his motorcycle parked in front of Scott’s apartment. So, they knocked on his door without announcing they were police.
Robb Allen at Sharp As A Marble probably said it best when he referred to “lethal levels of Fail.” There were so many mistakes made on both sides of this that the lessons should be self-evident. But I wanted to go through them, and talk about how I addressed this with my family last night, so that you might be prepared.
HAVE A PLAN
Everyone in your household needs to know the plan, and needs to follow it. You have fire drills at your house – you need to practice this, too.
Only the eldest person home answers the front door after dark. If my kids are home alone, they don’t answer the door. Period. If they are seen and called to by someone outside, they can deal with them at that point. But they don’t open the door to someone they don’t know.
FOLLOW THE PLAN
If someone knocks on my door late at night, we don’t open the door. It’s that simple.
I will go to the door with a pistol either holstered or concealed behind my back, and with a phone. We first find out who it is, by turning on the front porch light, and looking out the front window at the porch. (If your house isn’t set up that way, you need to have some way to see those people.)
If they are people we know, and they don’t sound under duress, and there are no others with them that we don’t know, only then would we open the door, and deal with the situation.
If they are people we know, but they sound under duress, we find out why and assess the situation from there. If they have trouble and need my help, I would decide which way to go.
If they are not someone I know, I will call 911 and tell them help is on the way, but I’m not opening the door. Not if it’s raining, or winter, or the baby is sick. It sounds cruel, but I would rather that, than for you to read about me the next day, killing by home invaders.
IF IT’S THE POLICE
If they claim to be the police, I would tell them I am calling 911, and do so. I would tell the dispatcher that the police are here, and ask why. If they have legitimate reason to be there, I would put my pistol away, and open the door, and follow their instructions.
It is vital that at no time would I show a gun or other weapon to someone at the door. First, if they are police, they will shoot me. If they aren’t police, they could call 911 themselves and report me for assault. Yes, I could present a positive defense under Georgia’s Castle Law, but that would still involve being arrested, hiring a lawyer, and lots of money.
WORST CASE
Of course, if someone forces their way through my door, I will have a split second decision to make. If they are police, I need to follow their instructions completely if I want to live through this. For me, this is vital. I have quite a smartass disposition, and a more than a little bit of a Don’t Tread On Me attitude. The key here, though, in every situation, is to de-escalate, so that, hopefully, no one has to get hurt. And certainly, things turn out better for us than they did in Lake County.
Fill Yer Hands 